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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23728030">Hold me (because I only want to feel your touch)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/stcrjumper/pseuds/stcrjumper'>stcrjumper</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Tiny Meat Gang (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Cody and Kelsey's relationship develops in the background, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, High School AU, I can't write a fic without having some angst in it, Noel is just being Noel, Smoking, Spock is just there, They're all 18 in this, Underage Drinking, this happens in the summer</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 23:15:31</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>17,179</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23728030</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/stcrjumper/pseuds/stcrjumper</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Noel and Aleena meet in summer school.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Aleena/Noel Miller, Cody Ko/Kelsey Kreppel</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>15</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Hold me (because I only want to feel your touch)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>What started off as an idea for a one shot turned into this long ass story. Noel mentioned on stream once that he went to summer school as a kid, and I just went on from there. I was going to do chapters, but then I decided against it and just went along with one whole thing. I'm in love with the idea of high school!Noel, so this is me expressing that. There is some semi-heavy stuff related to relationships discussed in this, so just be warned. I hope you all enjoy!</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>School was always the same for Noel. The same people, the same classes, the same subjects. He was always prone to get bored easily, ever since he was young, so ultimately it surprised no one when he didn’t show up for his classes half the time. He should’ve known better than to skip, it being his senior year and all, but he truly didn’t give a fuck. Instead, he went out with his friends, Cody and Spock, and sat under the bleachers outside to avoid PE. Or, their favorite thing to do when skipping Calculus, going out to smoke behind the school by the hidden tree, so no one could find them. And when his buddies refused to miss class, claiming that <em> they needed the class to graduate </em>, he just brushed them off and walked to the In ‘N Out beside the school. </p><p>His pattern of skipping a couple classes a week seemed to be going great, until one day, while in History class, he was called into the counseling office. “Oh for fuck’s sake, what now,” he grumbled. </p><p>Noel picked up his bag from the floor and walked towards the door while Spock whispered in a sing song voice, “Oooh someone’s in troubleeee”. All Noel did in response was turn around and flip him off before closing the door behind him, hearing a faint snicker coming from his friend’s seat. </p><p>Starting his way down the hall, he shoved his hands in his hoodie’s pockets and started up his music again. The counselor’s office was across campus, so he had time for a song or two before he reached it. </p><p>“<em>What the fuck did I do this time,</em>” he asked himself, not being able to think about anything that he did that would cause administration to call him up. Noel always laid low; he found a way to only be seen when he wanted to be seen, and the rest of the time he just blended into the background. He liked it like that anyways- not having to worry about anyone else but him and his friends. It's how he survived through high school, cruising by without catching anyone’s attention. He only got called to the principal's office once his freshman year, but that was because he broke a kid’s nose for harassing a girl. </p><p>Today, however, was something completely different, because Noel knew for a fact he didn’t punch a kid. He continued mulling over in his brain all the reasons why he would get called up until he got to the door, taking a deep breath before opening it, and walking in. </p><p>He waited a beat before speaking: “Hi, uhm, I’m here to see Mrs. Reese?”. The receptionist looked from her computer and tried to give what she thought resembled a welcoming smile. </p><p>“Are you Mr. Miller? Nole Miller?”, she answered, her nasally voice sounding like nails against a chalkboard. </p><p>Noel slightly cringed, but responded anyways. “It’s actually <em> Noel </em>, and yeah, that’s me.”</p><p>Barely batting an eye, she replied, “Oh I’m sorry. If you’ll have a seat on the couch right behind you, Mrs. Reese will be out in just a moment.”</p><p>Not wanting the conversation to go any longer, he simply nodded and sat himself on the couch against the wall. Not even two minutes later, a door opened and a small woman with her brown hair tied neatly into a bun emerged. “Noel? I’m ready to see you now.”</p><p>Noel grabbed his bag once more and walked into the woman’s office. He settled himself into the chair that sat in front of the desk, pausing his music to be able to hear what she was saying. </p><p>“So Noel, let’s talk. I was looking through your file for graduation, when I noticed something weird about your attendance. It says here that you’ve been skipping classes every week, mainly PE and Calculus- and this dates back all the way to the beginning of the year.”</p><p><em> Fuck </em>. So they had figured it out, just weeks before the end of the school year. Noel was gearing up a bullshit excuse to try and explain himself, but Mrs. Reese had already started talking again, “I don't know how you thought you were going to pull this off, really. I mean, we look at attendance every month- I just don’t know how we didn’t see it until now,” she sighed before continuing, “We’re past the problem of skipping at this point, though. Now, we have to worry about whether you're going to graduate or not.”</p><p>Noel's throat constricted, fear of having to retake his senior year slowly creeping up on him. “Wait, wait, wait, hold on- you’re saying I’m gonna have to retake my senior year?”. </p><p>She shook her head, “Well, seeing as you’re failing one of your core classes, that should be the case. However, we have the option of sending you to summer school, only a couple classes a week for four weeks, where you could finish and pass the class before graduation at the end of July. You already have enough credits for PE, so you’re ok on that end.”</p><p>Noel took a moment to straighten himself in his chair and take a breath. “So what I’m getting is that if I don't want to retake my senior year, I have to enroll in summer school. And if I pass that, I pass my senior year and get to graduate?”. The woman nodded yes. </p><p>“Take a moment to think about it if you need to-“.</p><p>He interrupted her right then and there, not needing to hear anymore about it. All he knew is that he wasn’t going to endure another year in this hellhole, and that’s all the motivation it took. “I’ll do it.”</p><p>“Great! Let me just enter your information in and you’ll be all set.”</p><p>Ten minutes later, and he was on his way to skip PE once again. It was the last class of the day, so it didn’t really matter- plus, it was Friday, so his friends didn’t mind missing their last class. He texted the group chat, telling the guys to meet him at In ‘N Out in their usual booth. </p>
<hr/><p>“Dude, when I heard Mr. Smith tell you to go to the counselor’s office I thought for sure you were gonna get suspended or some shit,” Spock said while leaning back against the back of the booth. </p><p>All three guys were in their usual seat with their usual order of a large fry and three cokes. This was kind of like their tradition, something they’d done every Friday, on the dot, ever since they all met halfway through Freshman year. </p><p>Cody spoke up shortly after, “Yeah dude, what the fuck did they even say? I can't believe they didn’t get you in trouble or something.”</p><p>Noel popped a fry in his mouth, “I don’t even know, honestly. She called me in, we talked about how I was failing math, and she said that if I did some summer school bullshit class then I could graduate with everyone else. I mean I took the deal, but it still sucks ass that i’m losing a month of our summer break.”</p><p>Spock choked on his coke. Sputtering a bit, he looked at Noel in disbelief. “A month!? Bro what the fuck, that’s <em> so  </em>not fair. Maybe three weeks is fine, but a month? That’s just cruel.”</p><p>“I mean I guess it’s kind of a way for the school system to punish the kids, right? They didn’t do shit during the year, and now some poor teacher has to come to school too to teach the material all over again,” Cody said.</p><p>Noel looked at his friend. “Dude, who’s side are you on? <em> Maybe  </em>you have a point, but it doesn’t change the fact that summer school just shouldn’t exist at all,” he huffed out.</p><p>“I'm not picking <em> sides  </em>Noel, I'm just thinking about the teachers- they have lives too, you know?” Cody responded, sending a glare towards noel.</p><p>That's just how Cody was, always thinking about others first. He was the more “feely” one of the group, so Noel and Spock had gotten used to him always playing the devil’s advocate in arguments like these. </p><p>“Ok <em> fine</em>, I guess you’re right. But whatever, it shouldn’t be that bad right? We have what, two weeks left of school? Then it’s another four weeks for me, and then we’re all off. I mean, at least I don't have class every day. It’s only, like, four out of five days, and I can just sit in the back and not talk to anyone. It’ll be fine, I’m sure. We can still hang out during the weekends, it’s not like I’m-“. </p><p>Spock cut Noel off, “Dude, you’re rambling again. Chill out, you’ll be fine.” </p><p>He took a breath and ran a hand through his hair. “Yeah, you’re right, sorry”. Noel did that a lot. He would start talking, then get caught up in his own thoughts until someone told him to shut up- most often it being Spock. </p><p>“You’re fine”, his friend replied, then went on to change the subject and talk about a beat that he started producing, saying that he was really stoked about this one. They sat in their booth, just hanging out, until it was getting dark outside, and Cody had to leave. </p><p>“Sorry guys, my mom wants me home before 9. I'll see you dipshits later though! Peace,” and with that he took off, jokingly flipping his friends off before walking out the door. </p><p>The two remaining turned back to each other laughing, and Noel waited until Spock was done to ask him a question. “Hey, can you give me a ride home? The bus station is too far for me to make it on time for curfew.”</p><p>“Sure, you know it’s not a problem,” was his friend’s response, and he gave a little sigh of relief. Noel lived kind of far from the school, so he had to take the bus every day to get there. It wasn’t always ideal, but he made it work. </p><p>After paying, they both walked to Spock’s car and got in on their respective sides. “You can play whatever you want,” Spock said while handing the aux cord to Noel. He took it, plugged it in his phone, and started playing <em> Can’t Feel My Legs </em> by <em> Don Toliver </em>. He had recently become obsessed with the song, something about the melody and the beat mixing together that settled happily in his brain. </p><p>They spent most of the ride to Noel's house in silence, with the occasional comment here and there about the song that was playing. They were at a point in their friendship where they didn’t need to talk, where just being in each other’s company was fine. </p><p>After thirty minutes they finally arrived, and Noel dapped Spock up before getting out of the car and making his way to his apartment, “Thanks a lot by the way, see you later.”</p><p>“I got you man, see ya,” he responded, then started backing out of the parking space and driving back onto the road. </p><p>Looking at his phone and seeing that it was twenty minutes past his curfew, Noel cussed under his breath and tried his best to make as little noise as possible as he walked into his apartment, then into his room. </p><p>Finally safe, Noel sighed and dropped himself onto his bed, letting his bag slide to the floor. He laid there, the faint noises of cars driving by on the boulevard beside his apartment complex appeasing his busy brain. </p><p>After a couple minutes, he got up and got ready for bed, then spent another two hours switching between texting the group chat and scrolling through twitter. Finally, once 1 am hit, he turned off his phone and tossed the covers over his head, sleep engulfing him like a warm blanket. </p>
<hr/><p>The next two weeks had passed by in a blur. They were filled with reviewing for finals and, to Noel's own surprise, studying with Cody and Spock. All three gathered in one corner of the library, the one where almost no one ever went to except for the “nerds”, as they liked to call them, and helped each other with the subjects that they didn’t understand. </p><p>Then finally came the time for finals, and after Noel had finished his last test, he hauled ass out of the class and texted his friends.</p><p>
  <b> <em>noel, 2:30pm-</em></b>
</p><p>
  <em> yo guys, i’m finally done with my tests. once you’re done with yours, meet me behind the school  </em>
</p><p>He made his way to their little grass area, sat down, and leaned against the tree. He finally felt free from all the things high school weighed him down with- until he painfully reminded himself that he barely had a week of break before he had to come back here for his summer classes. He groaned, choosing to ignore that for now, and instead opting to listen to his music. He pulled out his speaker from his bag, hit shuffle, and let his playlist play while he waited for his friends. </p><p>After twenty minutes, Noel opened his eyes to find Spock and Cody walking towards him with huge smiles on their faces. Once they were close enough, Cody spoke first, “Yooooo, how does it feel to be finally done with high school! Oh wait, just kidding, you still have to come back here,” Cody faked a frown. Noel punched his arm while the other two laughed, then eventually joined in too.</p><p>“No but for real, it feels weird to be done with high school. Like, it doesn’t even feel real,” Spock said after sitting down, while playing with the blades of grass he ripped from the ground. </p><p>Cody spoke next, “Yeah I know, it’s like- I don’t even feel like I’m done. Like I’ll be back here at the end of the summer, like we always are, dreading the start of the new school year.”</p><p>“Yeah, even if I have to come back here next week, it’s still surreal to me that <em> college  </em>is our next step.” Noel waited a couple seconds before speaking again, wanting to completely change the subject. “But anyways, let’s not think about that right now- I wanna get fucking <em> baked </em>,” he finished off with a smile.</p><p>Cody looked at him while he fished out the baggy where he hid his joint from his bag. “Dude how do you always have weed on you? We’re 18 years old- it’s not even legal for us to buy some yet.”</p><p>Noel simply put the joint to his mouth and smiled. “I have my ways,” to which Cody groaned and Spock laughed. </p><p>He lit it and inhaled slowly, letting the smoke coat his lungs for a few seconds before blowing it out into the air. They sat there and stayed like that for a while, just passing it between each other and making dumb jokes about whatever came to their mind. When the sun started to set, they got up and said their goodbyes, each going their separate ways home. </p><p>Noel got on the bus after ten minutes of waiting, <em> INTOXICATED </em> by <em> Indica </em>coming on as he sat down. Thirty minutes later he got off, walked to his apartment and went straight to his room, not bothering to say hi to his family, already knowing they were all too busy to care if he was home or not. He then followed his usual night routine and ended up in bed, scrolling through Twitter and talking to his friends until 2 am. Finally shutting his phone off, he pulled the covers over his head and drifted into a peaceful post-high sleep. </p>
<hr/><p>The following Tuesday could not have come any quicker. He spent most of his days off at the skate park near his house, where Spock and Cody joined him to hang out and on Friday afterwards go to In ‘N Out, or cooped up in his room watching shitty Netflix movies and occasionally going on his phone. </p><p>The night before he started summer school, Noel got high to stop himself from overthinking the whole situation. Instead, he looked out his open window and let the soft breeze caress his face, the sound of passing cars calming his overbearing thoughts. </p><p>And that’s how he found himself the next morning, leaning on the window ledge, with his alarm screaming at him to tell him it was time to get up. He got dressed, ignored breakfast even as his mom was yelling at him to eat, and rushed his way to the bus stop. His parents sure did have a funny way of showing him that they cared. </p><p>However, as he was about to get onto the bus, a girl with long brown hair came running and cut him off. ”Yeah sure, go right ahead,” was all Noel said, and she barely glanced back at him before going to the back of the bus and sitting down. <em> “Rude much</em>”, he mumbled under his breath, taking a seat near the front. </p><p>Thirty minutes later he was at the school, head down and lost in his music as he walked towards the entrance. Noel finally got to the classroom, his mood turned sour mostly from the shit weather and the fact that he had to be there during his summer break. He entered the class, some people already scattered around the room, and chose a seat in the back. </p><p>Noel sat down and went on his phone, knowing it was useless to text his group chat since it was 7:45 am and Spock and Cody would definitely still be asleep. He was bored out of his mind until someone entering the room caught his attention; head down towards her phone, her long brown hair fell into her face, creating a sort of curtain. She took her free hand and brushed it back behind her ear, her full face now on display. She stood small, but held herself with a sort of confidence that said, <em> don’t mess with me</em>. She was wearing Doc Martens and high waisted jeans, the pants accentuating her curves, finishing the look with a black crop top. She came off as intimidating, her face exploiting that fact, but Noel didn’t mind that at all. </p><p>The girl lifted her head from her phone and looked around the classroom, her head stopping when she made eye contact with Noel. They held each other’s gaze for what felt like forever, until the teacher came barging in, grabbing everyone’s attention, “Ms. Akhtar, late as always I see. Please take a seat so I can start class.”</p><p>The girl looked towards the teacher and crossed her arms, “Well you were late too, so what’s the difference?”.</p><p>The whole class snickered, including Noel, who just watched her from the back of the classroom. </p><p>The teacher sighed, “Just sit down please, we all know none of us want to be here. Don’t make it harder than it has to be.”</p><p>With a flip of her hair over her shoulder and a roll of her eyes, she made her way to the desk that was one row in front and to the right from Noel’s. He leaned against the back of his chair, following her every movement until she sat down, then turned his attention to his phone to check the notification he had just received. </p><p>As the teacher started talking about whatever math thing they were learning, Noel couldn’t stop thinking about the moment he and the girl just had. “<em>What even was that? </em>”, he asked himself. For the next half hour, he tried all he could to focus on what the teacher was saying, but his mind kept on going back to the girl that sat only a few feet away from him.</p>
<hr/><p>Twenty minutes before their lunch break, Noel was writing down a problem from the textbook when he felt something hit his head. He looked up, finding next to him a balled up piece of paper. He uncrumpled it, seeing a message written inside.</p><p>
  <em> hey u look smart. what did you get for number 4, i don’t understand it for shit </em>
</p><p>Noel looked up to his right to see the girl from before looking at him with expectant eyes. She nodded towards the paper, urging him to write a reply. He took his pencil and wrote back:</p><p>
  <em> what makes you think i’m smart? i’m in summer school- any smart person wouldn't be here rn </em>
</p><p>He crumpled the paper again and lobbed it over to her desk. He watched her as she read it, a small smile stretching out on her face. She bent down to write again, then passed it back to him.</p><p>
  <em> dude you’ve been working non stop ever since mr. dumbass over there gave us the worksheet. you might not be smart but u sure as hell look like u get this shit- so help me </em>
</p><p>Noel scoffed as he read her message, slightly surprised by her boldness. </p><p>
  <em> ok but first, what’s in it for me? i don’t do shit without payment </em>
</p><p>She took the paper once again and scribbled a quick response.</p><p>
  <em> i have edibles i can give u in exchange  </em>
</p><p>Noel didn’t even bother writing back, he just looked up at her with a raised eyebrow. She stared back at him and shrugged her shoulders, mouthing, “You also look like you smoke weed.”</p><p>He tried to stifle his laugh and turned it into a cough, not wanting to attract anyone’s attention- but it was too late. </p><p>The teacher looked up from his desk and asked, “Everything ok back there?”.</p><p>To which Noel cleared his throat and responded, “Yeah, sorry, drank my water too fast.”</p><p>He nodded and went back to his book, while the girl looked at Noel and mouthed “smooth” with a grin playing at her lips. He just winked in reply and gave her his answers, a silent agreement to the exchange of edibles for his help.</p><p>Lunch finally rolled around and the teacher dismissed the class to go eat. As they were walking towards the door, the girl caught up to Noel and tapped his arm, “Hey, thanks a lot for the help."</p><p>“Yeah sure, it’s no problem. Thanks for the edibles,” Noel responded with a grin. </p><p>She shrugged her shoulders, “Eh, I do what I can.”</p><p>They both laughed and fell into a weird yet comfortable silence as they walked towards the cafeteria. The girl spoke up again, this time looking up at him. They had a slight height difference, so Noel had to look down when she talked, “I’m Aleena by the way.”</p><p>He gave a slight nod in her direction, responding with his own name, “I'm Noel.”</p><p>The rest of their lunch period was spent just getting to know each other and messing around, banter easily bouncing off of each other. Afterwards, they walked back to class side by side, and spent the remainder of their school day passing notes back and forth while the teacher was up writing stuff down on the board. Noel, on many occasions, had to cover his mouth to try and not laugh out loud because of something Aleena had said. </p><p>Once the day ended, Noel was packing his stuff up when Aleena turned to him, bag already in hand, saying, “Hey listen, I have to go, but I had a really fun time today. I’ll see you tomorrow?”.</p><p>“Yeah, same here. I'll see you tomorrow,” Noel responded. Before going away, she reached her hand into her bag and got out a little package. “Here’s payment for earlier,” adding a little wink at the end. </p><p>Noel laughed and they exchanged a small smile before she turned around and walked off. He watched her retreating figure, until he got a call from Spock, taking him out of his daze. Noel shook his head and answered the phone while walking towards the door of the classroom, knowing the call was most likely being about where they were going to meet for him to get picked up. </p><p>Ten minutes later, he opened Spock’s car door and sat down in the passenger seat. Noel was about to say something when Cody popped out from the backseat. “Hey sweetie, how was school today?”, he said with a mock “mom” voice.</p><p>They all laughed and Noel responded with “Fuck off, asshole,” and they all burst into laughter again. A few beats passed before he spoke up again, “Yo guys, guess what.”</p><p>Cody being too enthralled by his phone, Spock answered instead with a glance towards him and a raised eyebrow. “You guys are gonna love me,” Noel went into his bag and got out the packet of edibles Aleena gave him earlier. “I have edibles!”.</p><p>As soon as he said that, Cody's head instantly perked up, “YOU’RE KIDDING. How the fuck did you get edibles?!”. </p><p>Noel just chuckled and replied, “I told you, man, I have my ways”. Cody groaned and mumbled something in reply, Noel too busy adjusting the music to hear it. </p>
<hr/><p>The next week and a half went on exactly like that- Noel would help Aleena with the worksheets, then they would spend lunch together, and after that they would either continue working, or mess around and pass notes to each other. Eventually she moved to the seat next to Noel, “<em>So it’s easier for us to pass notes </em>”, she had said. </p><p>Noel found that holding a conversation with her was really anything less than difficult; it flowed easily, never running out of things to talk about, and the banter between them bounced back and forth with amazing ease. They had talked a bit about their friends and what not, just surface knowledge topics- never really getting too deep. They both quickly found out that they got along really well, a stupid astrology compatibility test they found online one day during lunch proving them right. </p><p>“What sign are you?”, Aleena had blurted out of nowhere, Noel mid-bite into his burger. </p><p>“Huh?”.</p><p>“I <em> said</em>, what sign are you? Like are you a Leo, a Virgo, what?”, she reiterated.</p><p>Noel swallowed before answering, “Does it look like I know what my sign is? I'm not an art hoe.”</p><p>Aleena laughed before asking him another question, “Ok fine- when’s your birthday?”.</p><p>“August 19th.”</p><p>“Ok, so then that makes you a Leo. Huh, no wonder you’re so damn loud”, Aleena deadpanned.</p><p>“Oh shut up”, and they both erupted into laughter. </p><p>This pattern stayed the same until the following Friday, when instead of packing up really quickly and having to go like she usually does, Aleena stayed by Noel's desk a while longer. </p><p>“Don’t you have to go?”, Noel asked, a bit confused at the sudden change. </p><p>She shrugged, “I mean yeah, but my dad can wait an extra two minutes. I have to ask you something anyways.”</p><p>Noel stood up, raising an eyebrow, “Yeah? shoot”. </p><p>She took out her phone, “My friend is throwing a party tomorrow night, and I was wondering if you wanted to come.” She took a pause before continuing, “You can bring Spock and Cody if you want, too, it’d be really cool to meet them.”</p><p>Now walking down the hallway, Noel looked at her, processing what she just asked him. He answered after a few seconds, “Yeah, that sounds really cool, I’m down to go. I’ll ask them what they think about it tonight when I see them.”</p><p>When he said that, he saw a flicker of <em> something  </em>flash in Aleena’s eyes. “Ok great. Here, give me your Snapchat so I can text you the details.” </p><p>“I don’t have Snapchat. I think it’s stupid,” Noel responded.</p><p>“Oh, that’s fine. Here, just give me your phone number instead,” she said. </p><p>She handed him his phone and he reached for it, their hands slightly brushing when he pulled back, causing a flutter of electricity to spread within his fingers. Noel ignored the feeling and entered his name and phone number, clicking the <em> add contact </em> button and giving her back her phone. </p><p>“Great, so I’ll see you tomorrow night then?”, she said, a soft smile lingering on her lips.</p><p>“Yeah, tomorrow night”, he replied, the familiar feeling creeping back up on him again as he saw her smile. </p><p>He watched her walk away, her long brown hair slightly swaying in sync with her steps. Noel looked down towards his phone before Aleena got to her car, missing how she turned back to look at him one last time as she opened the door. </p>
<hr/><p>Noel had been waiting in their usual booth for ten minutes when he got out his phone to text the group chat.</p><p>
  <b> <em>noel, 2:56pm-</em> </b>
</p><p>
  <em> hey dipshits where are u i’ve been waiting for 10 min </em>
</p><p>
  <b> <em>spock, 2:57pm-</em> </b>
</p><p>
  <em> sorry dude cody’s foot got stuck in a gutter and we had to get it out </em>
</p><p>
  <b> <em>noel, 2:57pm- </em> </b>
</p><p>
  <em> bro what??? how the fuck did he manage to do that?  </em>
</p><p>
  <b> <em>spock, 2:58pm-</em> </b>
</p><p>
  <em> it’s a long story lmao i’ll tell you when we get there </em>
</p><p>
  <em> see u in 5 </em>
</p><p>
  <b> <em>noel, 2:59pm-</em> </b>
</p><p>
  <em> bet </em>
</p><p>Five minutes later, just as Spock said, they walked into the restaurant, Cody supporting a slight limp to his right leg. </p><p>Noel was laughing when both guys sat down, hand across his chest and head leaned back against the booth. He took a moment to catch his breath, “I can't believe you got your foot stuck in a gutter- like how the fuck do you even <em> do  </em>that oh my god.”</p><p>Now Spock joined in as well, “It was so funny, dude. We were at the skatepark, and I was doing a kickflip when I heard this idiot scream. Then, I turned around and he was all like, ‘Spock, get over here and help me, I'm stuck!!’, so I went over there and saw that his foot was actually <em> in  </em>the gutter, and we spent, like, ten minutes getting it out.”</p><p>Once he was done talking, Noel doubled over in laughter, Spock with him, while Cody sat in the corner of the booth, sulking.</p><p>“Oh come on, Cody, it’s funny!! We’re not laughing at <em> you</em>, we’re laughing at the <em> situation</em>,” Noel emphasized. </p><p>They were back to a normal volume now, and Noel thought it would be a good time to bring up the party. “You guys got any plans for tomorrow night?”. When both shook their heads, he continued, “One of my friends from summer school invited me to a party, and she said you guys could come if you wanted to.”</p><p>“Wait a second- friend? <em> She </em>? Who is this and why haven’t you told us about her yet?”, Cody exclaimed.</p><p>Noel froze, “I uhh, I didn’t think it was relevant?” He said, sounding more like a question than a statement. In reality, it was very relevant. He found himself thinking about Aleena more often than he wanted to admit, but he knew that if he told his friends about her they would tease him incessantly- and he didn’t want to deal with that yet. </p><p>“But whatever,” he continued, “That’s not important now. Are you guys in or not? I have to let her know if you’re coming”.</p><p>It was Spock’s turn now, “And he even has her number, <em> woooow </em>. But yeah,” he hit Cody's shoulder, “We’re in.” </p><p>“Great, I'll text her then,” Noel stated, a small smile on his lips. He could feel his friends looking at him skeptically, but he just ignored them and wrote out the message to Aleena.</p><p>Once he was done, their waitress came up to the table asking them if they wanted a refill on their cokes. Noel and Spock shook their heads, but Cody, on the other hand, stumbled over his words trying to give her his answer. “I- uh yeah sure I’ll take another- I'll take another coke. Yeah”. She smiled with slightly tinted cheeks and nodded, walking off with his glass in hand. </p><p>The two others looked at each other with raised eyebrows. Noel was the first one to speak, “Cody. What the <em> fuck  </em>was that- you sounded like you just had a stroke.”</p><p>Cody rubbed his neck sheepishly, his voice going an octave higher like it always did when he got embarrassed, “What!! She was pretty and I got flustered! So what! I’ve seen her around before, but we never got her as our waitress until now- I didn’t know what to do!”. </p><p>Spock suppressed a laugh, “Ok, so if you think she’s pretty, ask for her number! There’s no doubt she’ll give it to you- she looked just as flustered as you sounded.”</p><p>“Yeah,” Noel added, “You two look like you’d get along really well.”</p><p>Cody exhaled loudly, “Ok fine. But if this backfires and she rejects me, this is on you two,” he finished, glaring at his two friends and accusedly pointing at them. </p><p>Noel held his hands up as if in surrender, “Ok man, whatever you say…”.</p><p>At that time the girl returned with Cody’s drink, and before she could turn around and leave again, he took his chance. “Excuse me, uh,” he looked at her name tag, “Kelsey?”.</p><p>“Yeah?”, she responded, her blue eyes hopeful. Anyone with a brain could see they clearly both wanted the same thing. </p><p>Cody went on, “If you don’t mind, I uh…”, he rubbed his neck once again. “Would you want to go out with me sometime?”, he blurted out, catching everyone at the table in surprise. </p><p>She stood there, mouth agape for a couple seconds, before responding with a dazzling smile. “Yeah I’d love to! I’ll give you my number once you come up and pay, that way you can text me the details”, she said, followed by a wink and her retreating figure to the cash register. </p><p>Spock and Noel looked at each other in shock, both thinking that Cody wouldn’t have been able to go through with it. </p><p>“Wow man, look at you, all grown up and shit. You have a date! I knew you had it in you,” Spock said.</p><p>“Bullshit! I bet you two put money on how long it was gonna take me to chicken out”, Cody exclaimed. “But whatever- I have a date, and that’s all I care about right now.”</p><p>Afterwards, they went back to talking about whatever, Aleena being a long forgotten subject- much to Noel's relief. </p><p>Once they were done, they let Cody go up and pay. It was more so he could talk to Kelsey and set up their date, but the added bonus of having him pay for everything was definitely worth waiting the extra fifteen minutes in Spock's car. </p><p>He drove everyone home, Noel's house being the first stop, letting him off at the sidewalk beside the apartment complex and driving towards Cody's house. </p><p>Noel walked up the steps towards his apartment on autopilot, his mind once again going back to thinking about Aleena. He caught himself multiple times doing that, but he just couldn’t stop. She was the only good thing about summer school, in his opinion, and he was also happy to have found a new friend. Granted, he had started to see her as more than just a friend in the short span of a week and a half that he knew her, but that didn’t matter. “<em>i’m probably just confusing my feelings of appreciating having found a good friend with actual feelings of a crush</em>,” he had told himself, but deep down he knew exactly how he felt.</p><p>The sound of faint screaming brought him out of his own thoughts, the feeling of utter dread quickly settling in the pit of his stomach once he knew where it was coming from. Of course his parents were fighting again- never a day went by where they didn’t fight. Not wanting to be the middleman again, he turned on his heels and started walking towards the roof access. At least there he was at peace. </p>
<hr/><p>Later that night, Noel had snuck back in the house at around 11 pm, going straight for the shower once he had put down all his stuff in his room. After he was done, he heard his phone ping. He would’ve let it be if he knew it was the group chat, but the sound was different then the ones he set for his friends. Curious, he set the towel he was using to dry off his hair down and went for his phone, surprised to see that it was a text from Aleena.</p><p>
  <b> <em>aleena, 11:36pm-</em> </b>
</p><p>
  <em> hey miller </em>
</p><p>The corner of his mouth slightly raised at the nickname, something she had started to call him since the day they met.</p><p>
  <b> <em>noel, 11:36pm-</em> </b>
</p><p>
  <em> hey leens, what’s up  </em>
</p><p>A nickname he started calling her shortly after. </p><p>
  <b> <em>aleena, 11:37pm-</em> </b>
</p><p>
  <em> wow, an instant reply- desperate much? </em>
</p><p>Noel started freaking out, the fact that he didn’t even wait thirty seconds before answering her completely slipping his mind.</p><p>
  <b> <em>aleena, 11:37pm-</em> </b>
</p><p>
  <em> just kidding lol </em>
</p><p>
  <em> i’m so bored. entertain me </em>
</p><p>
  <b> <em>noel, 11:38pm-</em> </b>
</p><p>
  <em> wow is that all i am to you? a source of entertainment? i deserve better friends </em>
</p><p>
  <b> <em>aleena, 11:39pm- </em> </b>
</p><p>
  <em> oh my god calm down, i’m just asking you to talk to me. my sister is usually the one to deal with me on friday nights, but she’s gone today so now you’re stuck with me :) </em>
</p><p>
  <b> <em>noel, 11:39pm- </em> </b>
</p><p>
  <em> ohh ok so i’m just here to fill a void, got it  </em>
</p><p>
  <b> <em>aleena, 11:39pm-</em> </b>
</p><p>
  <em> miller, no, that’s not what i meant  </em>
</p><p>
  <b> <em>noel, 11:40pm-</em> </b>
</p><p>
  <em> leens, relax, i’m just kidding.  </em>
</p><p>
  <em> so, do you want the full stand up show or just the shortened version?  </em>
</p><p>
  <b> <em>aleena, 11:40pm- </em> </b>
</p><p>
  <em> ha ha, very funny </em>
</p><p>
  <b> <em>noel, 11:41pm-</em> </b>
</p><p>
  <em> thank you i try </em>
</p><p>
  <em> but you said you spend friday nights with your sister, right? what do you guys usually do? </em>
</p><p>
  <b> <em>aleena, 11:42pm-</em> </b>
</p><p>
  <em> we usually just sit and watch a movie together. she makes the popcorn, i pick the movie. she had to go somewhere tonight, so i’m left all alone now  </em>
</p><p>
  <b> <em>noel, 11:42pm- </em> </b>
</p><p>
  <em> alone? aren’t ur parents home?  </em>
</p><p>
  <b> <em>aleena, 11:42pm-</em> </b>
</p><p>
  <em> my mom’s gone and my dad is working a night shift. so yeah, alone </em>
</p><p>
  <b> <em>noel, 11:43pm- </em> </b>
</p><p>
  <em> oh shit. well, your savior is here now  </em>
</p><p>Noel was about to come up with some other lame line when Aleena took him by surprise.</p><p>
  <b> <em>aleena, 11:43pm-</em> </b>
</p><p>
  <em> u wanna call? i hate texting </em>
</p><p>He stared at his screen, thumbs hovering over the keypad, until a honk from the street below got him out of his trance. </p><p>
  <b> <em>noel, 11:44pm-</em> </b>
</p><p>
  <em> yeah sure, just give me 2 min and i’ll call u </em>
</p><p>
  <b> <em>aleena, 11:44pm- </em> </b>
</p><p>
  <em> ok :) </em>
</p><p>Noel stood up and changed out from his towel into boxers. Then, after closing his bathroom door, he pulled the covers back from his bed and laid on it, pressing the <em> call  </em>button from Aleena’s contact. </p><p>Two rings passed by before she answered, her voice soft and barely above a whisper. There was something off about it, something Noel couldn’t discern, but he chose to let it be instead. </p><p>“Hey Miller, didn’t think you’d hear from me again so soon, huh?”, she said, and he could hear the smile on her face as she said that. </p><p>“Hey dumbass”, he answered back, a similar one playing at his lips. </p><p>“Sorry I just sprung this on you, it’s just that- I really hate texting. It’s so impersonal. I rather call, see the person face to face, or not talk at all.”</p><p>“Yeah, I get that. With texting, you can’t really tell what the person is feeling, but at least when you talk to them you can hear it in their voice,” Noel replied.</p><p>“EXACTLY!”, a beat passed, then “Sorry, I get really enthusiastic sometimes.”</p><p>He chuckled, “It’s ok, don’t worry about it. So, what’s up?”. <em>lame. lame. lame, </em>he repeated to himself.</p><p>Clearly, she was thinking the same thing, because she replied, “Oh my god you’re so lameeeeee. ‘What's up’? That's all I get?”, sounding more playful than serious. </p><p>“Shut up,” Noel answered, both of them laughing at the same time. </p><p>Aleena then changed the subject and started ranting about someone in their class, but Noel couldn’t wrap his brain around the words she was saying, too focused on listening to her voice. It was soft and calming, and he thought he could listen to her talk for hours on end without ever getting tired of it. Eventually he started voicing his own opinion on the person, until they were both full-on complaining about them. </p><p>They stayed like that until 2 am- each of them laying on their beds, talking, not realizing how much time had elapsed since they started the call. Then Aleena yawned, and Noel noticed how late it was. </p><p>He was about to tell her that he should go, but she beat him to it. “Hey listen, it’s pretty late so I think I’m gonna go. Thank you for tonight, though, I really needed this.”</p><p>“Yeah same, I’m beat. And I mean, that’s what friends are for, right?”.</p><p>She chuckled, “Yeah, you’re right. I’ll see you tomorrow?”.</p><p>“Yeah, tomorrow,” he responded.</p><p>“Ok, see you later alligator,” she laughed. </p><p>“Now look at who's being lame. Good night Leens.”</p><p>With that they both hung up, Noel’s last thought being, “<em>man am i in deep shit</em>,” before shutting his phone off and falling into a deep sleep. </p>
<hr/><p>The next day, Noel got out of his room at noon, texting his friends and telling them he was going to be at the skate park if they wanted to join him. They never answered him, so he figured that they were probably either still sleeping or busy doing something else. </p><p>He stayed there until 2:30 pm, when Cody called asking if he wanted to go to the mall. “Me and Spock need some clothes for the party, and I know for a fact you don’t have an outfit either- so you’re coming.”</p><p>Noel scoffed, “What makes you think I don’t have one?”.</p><p>“Dude. Your wardrobe literally only consists of t-shirts, hoodies, basketball shorts, or sweatpants/joggers. You wanna tell me again you have a proper outfit? It’s summer, which means it’ll be humid tonight, so there’s no way in hell I'm letting you wear worn-down shorts and a crappy t-shirt. We’re getting you new clothes, and that’s it,” Cody finished, blowing out a breath. </p><p>Noel took a second, “Ok, goddamn, I’ll go. You don’t have to write a whole thesis about it.”</p><p>Cody ignored his comment, only hearing the part where Noel said <em> yes</em>, “Ok so we’ll come and get you in like, twenty minutes? Be ready and standing by your complex by then. Bye!”, and he immediately hung up, leaving Noel to look at his phone and chuckle, already making his way back to his apartment to get changed. </p><p>Twenty minutes later, just like Cody said, he and Spock pulled up to the complex. The passenger seat window was rolled down, and his blond friend stuck his head out with a smile. “Get in, bitch.”</p><p>Noel rolled his eyes jokingly and got in the back, seating himself in the middle, “Hey guys, where we going?”. </p><p>Spock was looking in the rear view mirror when he spoke, “I was thinking we just hit a couple stores, then go back to Cody's to get ready for the party. You said it starts at 8 right?”.</p><p>“Uh yeah, hold on, lemme check again,” Noel said. Aleena had sent it after he fell asleep last night, so he had to scroll up a lot to find it. They had been unceasingly texting all morning, Aleena sending him a stupid meme as a good morning text, saying “<em>reminded me of who we were talking abt last night lol </em> “. It was clear that they could both sense that something had changed between them after the previous night’s phone call, but they never acknowledged it. Instead, they only acted on it by talking more frequently. </p><p>Finally finding the text in question, he turned the phone towards the front of the car and showed his friends the text. </p><p>
  <b> <em>aleena, 2:10am-</em> </b>
</p><p>
  <em> by the way, the party starts at 8. see you there ;) </em>
</p><p>“Damnnnnnn, she even sent you a winky face. Who <em> is </em> this chick?”, Cody said. </p><p>Noel sighed, “She’s just a friend, ok? Nothing more.”</p><p>Spock interjected, “Noel, friends don’t send each other winky faces. They send each other <em> smiley </em> faces.”</p><p>Not wanting to give himself any false hope, he groaned and told his friends to change the subject. Instead, he turned to Cody and asked him about his date with Kelsey. “So, Cody, when’s the big date?”. </p><p>Of course, Cody took the bait, and went on about his new romantic interest. “We talked, like, all night last night- it was great. It’s so easy with her, I don’t have to worry about it being awkward or running out of things to say because we just <em> get  </em>each other like that. It’s like she’s the female version of me. The date is supposed to be next Saturday night, and I think I might take her bowling or something.” He continued to go on about her, Spock giving little comments here and there, but Noel couldn’t help but think, “<em>what would Aleena say if I asked her to hang out? </em>”.</p><p>He pushed the thoughts aside when they arrived at the mall, only focusing on having enough patience to last the whole shopping trip. They went from store to store, spending the most time in <em> Pacsun </em> (mostly because Noel refused 95% of the clothes his friends chose for him), and finally found outfits for each of them. By the time they were back in the car, it was 6pm, and they were on their way back to Cody’s house to get ready. They talked about anything and everything on the way back, just enjoying each other’s company and the warm wind that blew into the car as they drove down the highway. It was June in Santa Monica, California, which meant that the nights became slightly more bearable than the days. </p><p>Twenty-five minutes later they arrived at Cody’s house, the smell of hamburgers wafting from the backyard. “Oh, my dad must be making hamburgers tonight! Damnit, and we won’t even be there to eat them! Ughhhhh,” he groaned. </p><p>Spock and Noel laughed, and all three walked into the house. The Kolodziejzyk's residence was huge- he had been there before, but the vastness of it never ceased to amaze him. The front door opened to a room with a high ceiling, adorned by a chandelier of sorts. The stairs slightly turned to the right as they went on, leading up to the second floor, where the rest of Cody’s family’s rooms were. The three guys walked down into the basement and settled themselves on the couch that was there. Noel adjusted the Bluetooth radio so that it would be connected to his phone, as it always was, and started playing music. </p><p>Spock was leaned back on the couch, while Cody was puttering around. “Ok guys it’s 7:30pm. We don’t wanna get there <em> right  </em>at eight, and the party is twenty minutes away. So what are we gonna do for the next,” he looked at his phone, “Thirty minutes?”. </p><p>Noel finished adjusting the music and sat down on the couch. “I don’t know, I mean we could just chill out and listen to music or something while we get ready?”. </p><p>The two others agreed and let the music play while they changed into their outfits. Five minutes later, they were all ready, and they just sat on the couch, talking, to pass the time. </p><p>“Ok, Noel. You really have to tell us who this <em> Aleena </em>girl is. You’ve been texting her non-stop all day with a stupid smile on your face. You’re literally texting her right now!”, Cody said. </p><p>Noel looked up from his phone, mid typing out a sentence, and stared at his friend. He knew he would have had to bring her up eventually, seeing as they were going to meet her tonight, but he wanted to keep her to himself a little longer. He sighed and sent his reply, then shut off his phone. “I mean there isn’t anything to say, really. She’s a friend that I made in summer school, and we get along really well. We text a lot, sure, but that doesn’t mean that I like her or anything,” he lied.</p><p>Cody gave an incredulous look. “You’re right, texting someone a lot doesn’t necessarily mean that you like them,” he paused, as if measuring out his next words carefully. “But the smile you get on your face when you get a text from her sure as hell does.”</p><p>He sat there, not really knowing what to say, until his friend continued talking. “But it’s fine, I get it. You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to, I’m just saying that it’s pretty telling.”</p><p>“Sure,” was all Noel said in response. </p><p>Sensing the tension, Spock looked up from his phone and changed the subject. “Yo, it’s eight already. Let’s go before we’re <em> actually  </em>late to the party.” </p><p>The others nodded their head, and they all gathered their things before heading up the stairs. Noel looked at himself one last time in the mirror, running his fingers to arrange his perfectly gelled hair. He was wearing a white <em> Carhartt  </em>t-shirt, black shorts, and his trusted black high top vans. It was a pretty simple outfit, but the whole of it with the added hairstyle made him look good. </p><p>They said their goodbyes to Cody’s parents on their way out, with the promise of being back before midnight. They got in the car, Spock and Noel in the front seat and Cody in the back, and were on their way. Noel pulled up his Spotify and played <em> GANG GANG </em> by <em> JACKBOYS </em>, setting the tone for the ride. </p><p>Twenty minutes later they got to the location, which surprisingly looked more like a warehouse than an actual house. They got out of the car and Spock locked it, putting his keys into his jeans’ back pocket. “Damn, this is one hell of a place to have a party,” he said.</p><p>“Yeah,” Cody added, “I thought you said it was a house party.”</p><p>Noel looked around him- the front doors were wide open, people everywhere both in and out of the building, with fairy lights hanging on the porch and music blasting from the inside. “Yeah, I thought so too. But whatever- it still looks really cool. Come on, let’s go inside, I want you guys to meet Aleena.”</p><p>He got out his phone while they started walking towards the entrance and sent her a text. </p><p>
  <b> <em>noel, 8:23pm-</em> </b>
</p><p>
  <em> hey we’re here where are you? </em>
</p><p>
  <b> <em>aleena, 8:23pm-</em> </b>
</p><p>
  <em> i’m in the kitchen pouring some drinks. it’s the first room on your right once you walk in the house </em>
</p><p>
  <b> <em>noel, 8:23pm-</em> </b>
</p><p>
  <em> cool, see you in 30 sec lol </em>
</p><p>Noel motioned to his friends to follow him, and they walked up the porch steps into the entrance. They had to squeeze through the door to finally make it to the kitchen because of the amount of people standing at the doorway. He quickly swept his eyes across the room, instantly finding Aleena in the small crowd. </p><p>Her back was to him, but he could recognize that long brown hair anywhere. She was wearing a white tube top, light blue denim shorts that flattered her every curve, and white high top vans. Noel walked towards her and tapped her shoulder, causing her to turn around. She smiled, and the same small flicker in her eyes that showed when he accepted her request to come to the party was there once again. “Miller! You made it!” she exclaimed as she threw her arms around his neck. It startled him at first, but he hugged back nonetheless. However, once he smelled the beer on her breath, he knew. “<em>she’s drunk </em>”, he told himself.  </p><p>Noel pulled away from her and smiled back, somewhat bitterly. “Yeah, sorry we’re late.”</p><p>“Oh it’s no problem! The party just started anyways,” she giggled, her words a bit slurred. </p><p>Ignoring the feeling forming at the pit of his stomach, he turned around and introduced his friends. “Leens, meet my best friends, Spock and Cody. Guys, this is Aleena.” Noel left it at that- not “his friend from summer school” or “the girl he just met”. Just- Aleena. </p><p>She smiled and hugged them. “Oh my God, it’s so great to meet you guys! Miller’s <em> always  </em>talking about you guys.” </p><p>Cody looked at his friend with raised eyebrows. “Oh <em> does  </em>he now… Well funny enough, he’s always-”, before he could finish, Noel tightly put his arm around Cody’s neck, shutting him up before he could finish the sentence. </p><p>“You got anything else other than beer here?”.</p><p>Aleena, seemingly ignoring what just happened, turned around and picked up a tray filled with little shot cups. “Jello shots! We also have tequila and other stuff, but it’s always fun to start off with these.” </p><p>They each took a cup and downed it in one go, Noel tasting cherry with the burning after taste of vodka. He shook his head and blinked his eyes a couple times, while Cody, always being the life of the party, exclaimed, “WHEW, LET’S FUCKING GOOO,” after downing his shot. </p><p>Spock just made a face, swatting Cody’s arm to tell him to not be so loud. The blonde argued back, until they were both screaming at each other about what was louder- Cody or the music. They only stopped when Noel came in between them, telling them that they were both being idiots and that <em> clearly  </em>the music was louder. </p><p>They downed two more jello shots after that and moved to the living room, where it was a lot more lively. Spock and Cody walked side by side, now talking about some show they watched recently, and Noel walked by Aleena while rubbing his neck. </p><p>“So your friends are really something, huh?”, Aleena asked, looking up at him. </p><p>“Yeah, sorry. They can be a lot sometimes,” he said, a small chuckle escaping him. </p><p>“No it’s fine! I think they’re funny.”</p><p>Noel agreed, then went on to tell a story about how he had to physically lock them in two separate rooms because they were getting so mad at each other, and he just knew that if he didn’t stop them, one of them was bound to punch the other in the face. Aleena was crying at one point, putting her hand on his bicep and leaning towards him, the sound of her laugh filling the room. Noel laughed along with her, but all he could think about was the warmth of her hand on his arm. She finally pulled back to wipe away her tears, and he felt like he could finally breathe again. The two found an open spot somewhere and sat there, exchanging funny stories about their friends being absolute dumbasses. </p><p>At one point, the song <em> 92 Explorer </em> by <em> Post Malone </em> came on, and Aleena gasped. “Ohhhhh my God. We <em> have  </em>to dance to this song!”. </p><p>Noel, not wanting to make a fool of himself in front of everyone, lied and said that he didn’t dance. </p><p>“Oh, come on Miller, <em> everyone  </em>dances! It’ll be fun!”, she insisted. </p><p>She stood up and started tugging at his hand. “No, I really don’t dance,” he said, resisting her pulling. She finally let go of his hand and walked backwards towards the crowd that was already dancing, mouthing the word <em> pussy  </em>with a mischievous grin. Never one to back down from a challenge, Noel got up with a sigh and walked towards Aleena, who was clapping her hands in triumph. </p><p>At first, they danced about a foot apart, Noel letting himself feel the rhythm, but as the song progressed, they got closer to each other, until the chorus hit and they were mere inches apart. Aleena had her hands up as her hips swayed to the beat, and Noel couldn’t help but place his hands on her waist, his thumbs splayed across her stomach. To his surprise, she then took his hands and guided them to her hips, where she kept her hands on top of his, and they danced in sync to the song. Aleena kept her head down as Noel pulled her closer, and they both knew that if she were to look up at him, they would be nose to nose, their mouths only inches apart. </p><p>They danced like that until the song ended, hands on each other, feeling like they were the only two people in the room. They separated when the next one started up, both slightly out of breath.  Aleena let out a breathy chuckle and ran a hand through her hair. “God I love that song,” she finally said, looking up at Noel with a knowing smile. </p><p>“Yeah, it’s a great song,” he responded with the same smile, his eyes momentarily flicking to her mouth when she licked her lips. </p><p>Feeling like he needed a moment, he told her that he needed to find Spock and Cody. She answered that it was ok, that she needed to go to the bathroom anyways. </p><p>Once separated, he walked onto the porch and leaned against the wall, rubbing his hands over his face. “<em>What the fuck was that? </em> ”, he asked himself. He knew that she was drunk, that it was probably the alcohol that was making her act like that, but he couldn’t help but think- drunk actions are sober thoughts, <em> right </em>? </p><p>Noel stood there with the question bouncing around in his head, until he was pulled back from his thoughts by Spock. “Hey man, you alright?”. Him and Cody were standing in front of him, concerned looks on their faces. </p><p>“Yeah, I’m fine. I think,” he paused, “Me and Aleena just had, like, a really intense moment.”</p><p>“Oh?”, Cody said, “Do tell…”.</p><p>They sat down at a table that was against the wall, and Noel told them about what happened while they were dancing. Once he was done, both his friends looked at him with their jaws dropped, as if he had just told them that he had discovered the cure for cancer. </p><p>Spock spoke first, “Holy fuck, dude. She’s definitely into you.”</p><p>“Yeah,” Cody added, “Especially with that song? She knew what she was doing,” and Spock nodded along. </p><p>“I don’t know, man, I mean she’s drunk right now, so that’s probably why she did it, honestly. She wasn’t thinking straight,” Noel said. </p><p>“Nah man, you know what they say: drunk words are sober thoughts! And it still applies with actions,” Cody tried to reassure him. </p><p>He anxiously ran his hand through his hair, not minding the gel. “That’s what I was thinking too, but I don’t wanna get ahead of myself-”.</p><p>Spock cut him off and kicked him in the shin.</p><p>“Ow, what the fuck?”.</p><p>“Stop whining and go talk to her! You never know until you try.”</p><p>Noel groaned, “Fine, whatever. I hate you guys.”</p><p>“Love you too!” Cody answered back. </p><p>He got up and walked back to the place where he and Aleena had been previously sitting, only to find it occupied by two other people. Confused, he walked back from where he came from while asking the loitering people if they had seen her anywhere. Every time, he was met with a slight shake of their head. Noel was beginning to get a bit worried, so he decided to go look upstairs, even if he knew that people only went there to hook up or smoke in the bathroom.</p><p>Once he reached the second level, Noel went and looked in all the rooms, barging in on one couple and apologizing while quickly closing the door. He was about to give up when he heard noise come from the one down the hall. The door was slightly opened with the lights on, and as he got closer, he could hear two distinct voices- one sounding more familiar than the other. </p><p>His hand was above the doorknob now, and it was clear to him that one of the two people there was Aleena. The sounds were muffled, but he could hear the other person raising their voice at her, with her trying to answer back. They were almost yelling now, and Noel knew he had to intervene before something happened.</p><p>He pushed the door open, and both heads turned towards him. The guy went to stand in front of Aleena, who was looking very small and even a little bit scared. “What do you want?”, the guy said. </p><p>Noel had seen guys like him before; tall and muscular, think they own the place and that the rules don’t apply to them. He had dealt with a couple of people like that before, and although he only stood at 5’9, he still won every single fight- and this one would be no different. </p><p>He took a step forward, showing the guy he wasn’t scared. “I need to talk to Aleena,” Noel stated blankly. </p><p>“She’s busy right now, try again later,” the guy answered, turning back towards her. </p><p>Noel wouldn’t take no for an answer. “No, I need to talk to her now. It’s urgent.”</p><p>When the guy turned and took a step towards him, Aleena raised her arm to try and stop him, but Noel gave her a look that said “<em>I’m fine, don’t worry </em>”. She withdrew her hand and nodded.</p><p>“Listen dumbass, I don’t know what’s so hard to understand here, but I said no. Now get out of here before I beat your ass.”</p><p>Noel challenged him and took one step closer, making them almost nose to nose. The guy was around six feet tall, so he was towering over Noel, but he didn’t care. “Make me,” was all he said. </p><p>All of a sudden, the guy cocked back his arm to punch him, and all Noel heard before dodging the hit was Aleena exclaiming, “Alex, no! Leave him alone!”. Momentarily distracted by her screaming at him, Alex looked back and Noel took his chance, landing a left hook square in his jaw. He stumbled back a couple steps, cupping his face, and pure rage took over. He lunged at Noel, bringing them both to the ground, and went to punch him in the face. Alex hit him once in the right eye, but Noel deflected the second punch with his forearm, and used his other hand to land another hit in the guy’s face. Using the fallback to his advantage, Noel kneed him in the groin and pushed him off, immediately getting up to go check on Aleena. </p><p>“Are you ok?”, he asked, softly putting his hands on her shoulders. She was about to answer him, but instead her eyes grew wide and she screamed, “Noel, behind you!”. He turned around to see the guy coming after him once again, ignoring the fact that she called him by his first name instead of his last name, but instead of hitting him in the face, Noel punched him in the throat, a move he saw in an old action movie once. The guy instantly fell back, coughing and gasping for air. </p><p>Knowing he would be fine, Noel turned his attention to Aleena again, searching her eyes for anything that could be wrong. She just looked behind him at the person writhing on the floor and said, “I’m fine, it’s ok.” </p><p>He nodded and put his arm around her shoulder as they walked out of the room, down the steps, and out the front door. He sat her down where Spock and Cody were sitting, telling them to keep an eye on her while he went to get a glass of water. They looked at Noel confused, but ultimately knew that something had happened. </p><p>Once he came back, his friends were talking to her and trying to make her laugh, and when they managed to get a chuckle out of her, they high fived. Noel smiled at the sight and walked towards them, giving Aleena her glass of water and sitting down beside her on the porch swing. </p><p>“You good?”, Noel asked, and she nodded while silently sipping her water. </p><p>Aleena was silent while he and his friends were talking, mostly about nonsense, until she put her glass down and said that she should go home. </p><p>“Well at least let us drive you home,” Spock suggested.</p><p>“No, it’s ok, I can take the bus home.”</p><p>Noel knew Aleena was stubborn, so instead of arguing with her on this, he went along with it. “Fine, then I’m going with you.” When she gave him an incredulous look, he continued, “It’s 11 pm. There’s no way in hell I’m letting you ride the bus alone, <em> especially  </em>after what just happened.”</p><p>She looked as if she was thinking it over, but eventually she sighed and gave in. “Fine, I guess I could use some company on the way home.”</p><p>“Great,” Noel answered. “I’ll text you guys tomorrow, yeah?”.</p><p>His two friends nodded and they hugged each other goodbye, and when he pulled back from Spock, he asked him to unlock his car so he could get his sweatshirt. </p><p>“Yeah sure, no problem.”</p><p>“Thanks, man.”</p><p>Noel nodded one last time towards his friends and followed Aleena down the porch steps, walking along with her towards Spock’s car. “Just give me a second, I need to get something really quickly.”</p><p>She nodded and waited beside the car, Noel returning not long after with a sweatshirt he left in the car once after a night at the skate park. </p><p>“Here,” he said, handing it to her.</p><p>Her brows scrunched in confusion. “How did you-?”.</p><p>He shrugged. “Call it an instinct.”</p><p>She smiled softly and took the sweatshirt, gracefully slipping it over her head and onto her body. It was slightly big on her, only because she was a noticeable 6 inches smaller than him, but she made due by bunching up the sleeves at her wrists. </p><p>They walked the first few minutes in silence, side by side, their hands slightly brushing with every other step, until Aleena slipped hers into Noel’s. He turned to her, a question at the tip of his tongue, but as he looked at her, her eyes trained forward in thought, he knew that this was her way of saying thank you- for now. </p>
<hr/><p>What seemed like forever was in reality only ten minutes. Walking to the bus stop with Aleena in silence, hand in hand, made it seemed like time had slowed infinitely. Noel focused his eyes onto the darkness in front of him, trying to rationalize his chaotic thoughts. </p><p>Finally, they reached the stop, and he reluctantly let go of her hand, allowing her to get onto the bus first. They chose a seat in the back, Aleena staring out the window, and Noel sitting with his hands clasped together on his lap, fighting an internal battle within himself on whether to take her hand again or not. </p><p>The bus went on, the soft radio playing in the background being the only sound around them. After minutes of silence, she was the first to say something, her gaze never leaving the passing scenery. “He’s my ex-boyfriend.”</p><p>When Noel turned to her with a confused expression, she clarified. “Alex, the guy that tried to beat you up. He’s my ex. We dated for about six years before I decided to break it off. I never really told him why. I guess I had multiple reasons why, but I couldn’t bring myself to tell him. We’ve known each other all our lives- he was there for me when no one was. We got together at 12 years old, not really knowing what it meant to be in a relationship, but we did anyways. I feel like everyone kind of expected us to, so it was bound to happen. The first four years were amazing. He treated me as if I was his everything- always supported me, was always there for me. But then, something in him snapped. I don’t know exactly what happened, if it was me, or just something else entirely, but he just- changed. It was like he was a completely different person. He had these mood swings. One minute we would be fine, and the next he would be yelling at me because I did something he didn’t like. Sometimes he would even disappear for days, never letting me know what he was doing or when he was coming back. And when he did come home, he looked worse than he did before- heavy bags under his eyes, his face looking gaunt, hair matted as if he hadn’t washed it in days. To this day, I still don’t know where he went, what he did, or even if he still does it.” She took a shuddering breath, now looking down at her fidgeting hands, trying to steady herself. </p><p>“He never went as far as to, you know-“, she cut herself off, not wanting to finish her sentence. “But as time went on, he progressively got worse. It was clear he had anger issues, but I never knew they were that bad. He became insanely jealous and over protective, overbearing, always wanting to know where I was and who I was with. At one point it became too much, and I told him I wanted to break up. Of course, he didn’t take it well, tried to convince me to stay with him and that he could change, but I didn’t believe him. I told him that if he ever tried to contact me again I would put a restraining order against him and get the cops involved. After that day, I never heard from him. It’s been months since I’ve seen him, and now I’m finally getting to the point where I can feel free to do what I want without the creeping feeling that someone is constantly watching over me. My family and I had to move because of my dad’s job, which worked out perfectly for me. I never had to see him again. That is, until tonight. He was probably there because we have friends in common, but when he saw us dancing together, he apparently lost his shit. So when we separated and I went to the bathroom, he was waiting for me when I got out. I told him to go away, to leave me alone, but he insisted that I come with him and dragged me up the stairs into that room. We were arguing when you walked in, and seeing you just fueled his rage even more,” she stopped talking, words unsaid at the tip of her tongue. “But I wanted to thank you for what you did. I would normally be able to handle him on my own, but I think I was in some sort of shock tonight, so I couldn’t stand my ground. I hate how small he made me feel. The power he had over me in that moment. It’s a feeling I didn't think I would have again so soon. But yeah, thank you for saving me. And giving him the beating he deserved.” </p><p>She finally looked up at Noel, and his breath caught in his throat. Her usually peppy, soft, brown eyes were now glazed over, clouded with a storm of emotions, but the one that resonated the most was gratitude. He didn’t really know what to say, so he took her hand in his and squeezed it. </p><p>“I’m really sorry you had to go through that. It’s the worst- no one should have to feel like that.” The thought of Aleena feeling like she wasn’t worth anything made his blood boil. She was <em> so  </em>much more than what that guy treated her as. He lifted his gaze to her now, his eyes searching deep. “But I want you to know that I’m here for you.” He stopped. Then, “That's what friends are for.” As much as it pained him to refer to <em> them  </em>as platonic, he knew that now wasn’t the moment to tell her his true feelings.</p><p>She nodded and gave him a small smile, and he felt himself return it. They spent the rest of the bus ride in a comfortable silence, although their hands intertwined. At some point Aleena leaned her head against Noel’s shoulder, and he thought she had just dozed off, but then she swiped her thumb against the back of his hand, as if reading his mind, and he knew that she was still awake, fully aware of her actions. His heart did a weird flutter thing and he smiled, enjoying how at peace he feels like this, with her by his side. </p>
<hr/><p>When they were about two stops away from Noel’s, he turned to Aleena to ask her where she normally gets off. </p><p>“In two stops, why?”.</p><p>“You’re kidding, right?”, Noel deadpanned as he straightened himself up in the seat. </p><p>She looks at him, confused. “Uh, no. Why, is there something wrong?”.</p><p>“No, nothing’s wrong I just- I get off there too. How have we gone all this time without crossing each other? There really aren't a lot of people at our stop.”</p><p>Aleena chuckled. “Oh my God really? Yeah that’s so weird… I mean even if there’s barely anyone I feel like they’re really rude. The morning summer school started, I think, I was running late, so I cut in front of this one guy, and he had the audacity to say ‘Oh yeah, by all means, go ahead.’ Like what kind of dick move is that? I barely even looked back at him- he wasn’t worth it.”</p><p>Noel laughed. The kind of laugh where he leans his head back and has to clutch his chest for air. He couldn’t believe this. Aleena looked at him, brows drawn together. “Why are you laughing?”. </p><p>“You’re not gonna believe this,” Noel managed to say between breaths. “I was the guy. I took you as some self important girl who thought the world revolved around her, so I guess we're even.”</p><p>“No fucking way”, Aleena exclaimed, joining in his laughter. “I mean, my parents are usually the ones to bring me to school, so I’m not surprised we never crossed paths. That morning was the one time where they couldn’t bring me because they had to go to work early for some meeting or whatever.”</p><p>The bus finally got to their stop, and Noel waited until they were on the sidewalk before responding to her. “Yeah, that makes sense. My parents are always running late in the morning, so the bus is my only option. I would ask Spock to come and get me if he didn’t live so far away- I don’t wanna cost him a shit ton of gas money, though. But anyways, which way to your place?”.</p><p>She looked behind her. “My apartment complex is a five minute walk that way, so… I guess I’ll see you on Monday then?”.</p><p>Noel was about to say goodbye, but something in her expression told him not to. “<em>Fuck it, </em>” he thought. “Actually, I was thinking we could hang out some more? It’s only 11:30, and I have the perfect place. You’ll love it.”</p><p>Aleena looked at him skeptically, although he could see a glint of hope in her eyes. “I mean you’re the expert here, so if you say that I’ll love it, I <em> guess  </em>I can’t say no to that,” she responded, a small smirk forming. </p><p>Noel laughed and nudged her shoulder, then motioned for her to follow him. As they walked, he couldn’t help but steal glances towards her. The way the street lights softly illuminated her face, complimenting her dimples when she laughed. The way his hoodie fit her so loosely that she looked as if it would swallow her whole. As he looked at her, only one word came to his mind- <em> beautiful </em>. </p><p>They finally got to the apartment complex, and instead of going through the front door to get access to the roof, Noel circled around the side of the building and stopped at the ladder that was there. </p><p>“Miller, the front door was just there- why are we taking a ladder?”, Aleena asked.</p><p>“Why, scared of heights?”, he teased.</p><p>“<em>No,</em> it just seems like more effort than necessary,” she said, crossing her arms.</p><p>Noel sighed. “If we would’ve gone by the stairs on the inside, the door would’ve been locked. It always is. So, whenever I wanna go on the roof, I take the ladder. It’s easier and faster, plus no one ever checks here.”</p><p>“Oh. Good thinking.”</p><p>He smiled and stepped away from the ladder, gesturing as if to say <em> ladies first </em>. Aleena rolled her eyes playfully and placed her foot on the first step, hesitating before starting to climb. “Are you sure this is safe? I don’t wanna be halfway up there and then have it break on me.”</p><p>“Trust me Leens, I’ve climbed it hundreds of times- it’s safe. Plus, I’ll be right behind you the whole time. So if you fall, I’ll be right there to catch you.”</p><p>She nodded and turned her head forward, lifting her leg up to start climbing. Once she was far enough ahead, it was Noel’s turn. Finally reaching the top, he placed his foot on the ledge and hopped down onto the roof. Aleena was already there, standing with her mouth slightly agape, looking out at the horizon. “You can see the whole city from here. It’s beautiful.”</p><p>Noel looked down at her and swallowed thickly. “Yeah, beautiful.” He stared for a few seconds before shaking his head, then telling her to follow him once again. “If you think this is great, just wait. I have an even better spot than this.” </p><p>He started walking towards the middle of the roof, towards one of the air conditioning units, and stopped right in front of it. </p><p>Aleena stared unimpressed. “Wow Miller, you’re right. This is so much better than the view we had at the ledge.” She said sarcastically. </p><p>“We’re not even there yet, just hold on.” Noel went around to the back of the unit, climbed on the little box he had put there, hoisted himself up, then crawled to the front on it where he sat and let his legs dangle in front of Aleena. “Ta-da! Told you I had a better spot.”</p><p>She looked up at him, arms stretched out. “What difference does it make whether we’re on the roof or up on there? It’s the same view!”, she exclaimed.</p><p>Noel shook his head playfully. “Ye of little faith. Just climb up here and see for yourself.”</p><p>She sighed and walked around to the back so she could follow the exact same movements he had made only moments before. When she finally sat down beside Noel, he heard her gasp. “Holy fuck… We can see even more of the city from here. I-”.</p><p>She turned her head towards him and they locked eyes. “I told you, this spot is amazing. I always come here whenever my parents are fighting.” He stopped himself from saying anything more, not wanting to burden her with his problems, but the way she was looking at him made him keep talking.</p><p>“Ever since I was young, my parents fighting is all I’ve known. I don’t think I can remember a single time where they were actually <em> happy  </em>together. My sister would always be gone to who knows where, so they used me as the middleman. I was always stuck in the middle, trying to rationalize them and their arguments. All the fighting made me grow up a lot quicker than I should have, and I felt like I lost my childhood. They were acting like children so I had to act as the parent- being the adult in the room at 15 and taking care of them when they were supposed to be taking care of me really took a toll. It was only recently that I told them that enough was enough and that I was tired of being their middleman, so whenever I hear them fight I either lock myself in my room or come up here. It helps me get away from everything for a few hours.” Noel looked solemnly at the cityscape in front of him, and he could feel Aleena’s eyes bore into the side of his head. He refused to look at her because he knew the look he would get in return- pity. </p><p>Instead of saying anything, she just put his hand on top of his, and Noel felt all the words that she couldn’t say. A moment of silence passed before it was her turn to speak. “My parents never fought, really. They were nice. They treated me like a princess, like I was their prized possession. And before you say anything, I know- it sounds like a great life. But, I also have a sister. This is where it gets bad for me. Me and her are like best friends. We tell each other <em> everything </em> . She used to tell me that when she was younger, our parents treated her like they treat me now- like she was their everything. But then, I was born, and it’s as if they forgot about her. Now, it’s as if she can't do anything right and like she's an utter failure. I watched them criticize her every move as I grew up, and I hated just letting it happen. She used to have to reassure me that she could never hate me for that, that it wasn’t my fault all the time. It only recently got worse, and they kicked her out of the apartment last night. They said they couldn’t stand having a <em> failure </em> in the house anymore.” </p><p>She stopped, as if debating on whether to say her next words or not. She looked at him. “That’s why I called you last night. I needed to talk to someone, to take my mind off of it all, and you were the first person I thought of,” she softly chuckled, placing a strand of her hair behind her ear. “Weird, right?”. </p><p>Noel looked back at her with his heart beating out of his chest. “No. Not weird at all, actually.” </p><p>He could feel the tension around them get heavier, the air filled with electricity. He was gazing into her eyes, and without thinking he whispered, “Your eyes are gorgeous.” He felt like he had to be quiet, as if talking too loud would disrupt what they had between them. </p><p>A blush rushed her cheeks as she giggled, and Noel decided it was the best sound he’d ever heard. “Yours aren’t too bad either, Miller.”</p><p>They were slowly inching closer together, his gaze momentarily flicking to her lips, until his phone went off and ruined the moment. He internally groaned and got his phone out of his pocket, knowing it was one of his friends who was calling him. </p><p>Noel answered the phone. “What’s up, Spock?”.</p><p>“Hey man, where are you?”</p><p>“I’m at my house, why?”</p><p>“Oh, because you weren’t answering any of our texts and we were starting to get worried.”</p><p>“Yeah, I was a little,” he cleared his throat, “occupied.”</p><p>Spock snorted a laugh. “Oh shit, sorry, didn’t mean to disrupt. You're with Aleena right now?”</p><p>“Well it’s a bit too late for that. And yeah, she’s with me,” he sighed. </p><p>“Ok cool. Just wanted to check in. I’ll see you later?”</p><p>“Yeah, thanks man. See you.” Noel hung up the phone. </p><p>He looked sheepishly towards Aleena, “That was Spock, he was just checking to see where I was.” </p><p>She chuckled. “It’s fine, I- Wait, what’s on your cheek?” She softly grasped his chin in her hand, turning his head towards the right to examine his cheek better. “Noel, your cheekbone! It’s split, how did you not feel it before?”</p><p>
  <span>Noel lifted his hand to his cheekbone, hissing when he touched the injury. “Oh shit, I guess I didn’t feel it because of the adrenaline after the fight… Well, fuck.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We need to clean it before it gets infected! Do you have a first aid kit at your place?” Aleena looked frantic. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Leens, I’m fine- it’s just a cut. I’m sure it won’t-”.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She cut him off, “Noel, </span>
  <em>
    <span>no</span>
  </em>
  <span>. I’m not letting it go untreated. Now, do you have a damn kit at your place or not?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There it was again, her calling him by his name instead of </span>
  <em>
    <span>Miller</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He turned towards her, brows raised at the hardness in her voice. He swallowed hard. “Yeah, I uh- it’s in my bathroom. Come on.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He started to get up when Aleena grabbed his arm. “Wait, what about your parents?”.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re gone to some family event thing and won’t be back until tomorrow night, so we’re good.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She nodded in response and followed behind him. They both stayed silent as they made their way down the ladder and towards the stairs in the complex, both seemingly in thought about what had just happened. Noel couldn’t wrap his mind around the last five minutes. He opened up to her as she did to him, and they almost kissed. </span>
  <em>
    <span>Fuck, they almost kissed</span>
  </em>
  <span>. Gone were the thoughts of staying friends and the hopefulness that his crush would eventually dissipate, instead replaced with how much he wanted to put his lips on hers. Feel her breath against his as he threaded his hands through her hair. And then, the realization hit him like a truck- he liked Aleena and maybe, </span>
  <em>
    <span>just maybe</span>
  </em>
  <span>, she liked him back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His thoughts were interrupted when she cleared her throat. They were standing at the bottom of the steps now, and she was waiting for him to take the lead. “What floor do you live on?”. She couldn’t quite meet his eyes, instead choosing to gaze up at the turning staircase. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Third floor. Apartment 315.” The air around them felt weird and heavy, and all he could think about is how he probably, somehow, fucked everything up. </span>
  <em>
    <span>What am I thinking? Of course she doesn’t like me.</span>
  </em>
  
</p><p>
  <span>Noel spent the rest of the way up with those words on a loop. They finally reached his place, and the door unlocked with a faint creak. “The bathroom is this way,” he said first. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They walked through his apartment and Noel flipped on the light of the bathroom, going straight for the cabinet, and pulling out the kit. Before he could open it, Aleena took it from him and raised her eyebrows. “You didn’t think I was gonna let you do this yourself, right? Now come on, get on the counter.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Leens, I’m not gonna get on the-”.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looked at him sternly. “Noel, </span>
  <em>
    <span>counter</span>
  </em>
  <span>.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He blew out a breath and sat himself on the counter, and she opened the kit to take out the items she needed. She ripped open a rubbing alcohol wipe and tapped his knee, indicating him to spread his legs. When he looked at her with a weird look, she just stared at him. “I can get to your cheek easier that way,” was all she said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Noel nodded and did as she told, holding his breath when she got closer to him. She took his chin in her hand and tilted the injured side of his face towards her, making brief eye contact when she felt him staring. She started wiping at the cut with the wipe, making sure not to press too hard as to not hurt him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was the first to break the silence. “You didn’t have to do this, you know. I could’ve done it myself.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aleena shrugged and continued mending the wound. “I guess I just like to be hospitable.” She stopped and dropped her hand, looking at him straight in the eyes now. The way he was sitting made them stand at the same height, so Noel didn’t have to look down at her. She spoke again. “Take it as a thank you-”.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He cut her off, “Hey, Alex got the beating he deserved. He was being a complete dick. It was the least I could do.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She shook her head. “Yeah he was being a dick, but I’m not just talking about that. I’m talking about everything else. For being my friend, being there for me when no one else was, for listening to me when I was talking about my past. It means a lot.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Noel wanted to respond, but he didn’t know what to say. He wanted to tell her that it’s ok, that that’s what friends are for. But he also wanted to tell her that she did the same for him, that she meant more to him than she could ever know. Words went unspoken between them, and her hands fell to his thighs. They rested there, and he could feel her body heat radiate off of her. They both sat there looking intently at each other, seemingly searching for the same thing. His gaze unwillingly flicked down to her lips, and all he could think about was how much he wanted to kiss her. Something within him snapped, and he said </span>
  <em>
    <span>fuck it</span>
  </em>
  <span>. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Noel slotted his lips against Aleena’s, and it was instant fireworks. His hands immediately went to cup her face, and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Their mouths moved in sync, as if they had done this a hundred times before. Their movements were soft and slow, until he licked at the seam of her lips, and she slightly opened her mouth to him. His hand moved down to her waist, and he pushed his tongue to the bottom of her lower teeth. Then, their tongues met, and it was the best feeling in the world. Then they both sped up, as if they couldn’t get enough of each other, and they eventually broke apart, foreheads pressed against one another, both panting. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aleena let out a breathy laugh, and Noel joined in. “That’s not exactly what I had in mind when you said you were hospitable, but I like it,” he teased. She giggled and swatted his arm, and he brought her into a hug. She wrapped her arms around his body, perfectly placing her head in the crook of his neck. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They stayed like that for a minute before she pushed herself off with a sigh. “As much as I would love to stay like that, I need to finish cleaning your cut. You’re lucky you don’t need any stitches- I don’t think I could handle that.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Noel playfully rolled his eyes, although he welcomed their close proximity. She smelled like vanilla and roses, and he could feel her breath against the skin of his neck. Aleena finished cleaning him up, tapping his leg once she was done. “All done! You’re free to go,” she finished with a smile. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Before she could walk away, he grabbed her by the waist and kissed her again. This time was slower and lazier, as if they had all the time in the world. She sighed against his lips and wrapped her arms around him once more, only this time, she chose to tug at his hair. Noel gasped lightly, then smiled, thinking </span>
  <em>
    <span>two can play at this game</span>
  </em>
  <span>. He slid his hands under his sweatshirt and up her stomach, only stopping short of her tube top. Aleena pulled away and gave him a look. “I’m… I don’t… I want to take this slow, whatever </span>
  <em>
    <span>this</span>
  </em>
  <span> is.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course, Leens. I’m not gonna pressure you into anything- you have my word,” he reassured her.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She blushed and looked down, playing at the hem of his shorts. “Thanks, Noel.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He nodded and lifted his hand to her cheek, rubbing his thumb against her skin. Aleena leaned into his touch, but then her eyes shot open and she went to check her phone. “Shit, I have to get home. My parents are gonna kill me if I get home after 1am.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Noel looked at his phone- </span>
  <b>
    <em>12:55am</em>
  </b>
  <span>. He knew she wasn’t going to make it before curfew, so without thinking, he gave an idea. “Why don’t you just sleep here?”.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aleena looked at him. “I- Miller, I can’t. My parents are expecting me home.” She thought for a second. “Unless… They know Bailey lives far away, so they wouldn’t mind if I said I was sleeping over at her house… Hold on, give me a second.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Noel watched her as she typed something quickly on her phone. She bit her thumbnail as she waited, something he noticed she did when she was nervous. Then, a small smile broke out on her face and she typed a quick reply before looking up at him. “Bailey’s my best friend, if you were wondering. She said she would cover for me- we’re good. Now I just need to call my parents. Is it cool if I-”, she motioned for the door, and he nodded.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He watched her as she walked out of the bathroom, putting the phone to her ear. Noel sighed and rubbed his hands across his face. He was beyond tired. He got up from the counter and walked towards his room, making sure it was clean before Aleena walked in. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Two minutes later she called for him, and he answered that he was in his room. She walked in and looked around, lips slightly parted. “So this is where the great</span>
  <em>
    <span> Noel Miller</span>
  </em>
  <span> sleeps, huh? Cleaner than I thought it would be”.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He threw his pillow at her in retaliation. “Ha ha, very funny.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She laughed and caught it. “Thank you, I try.” Aleena put the pillow on the edge of the bed, looking as if she was debating on asking her next question or not. “Would it be ok if I took a shower? I feel really gross.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, it’s fine. I have some clothes you can borrow if you don’t want to stay in the ones you have on right now.” Noel got up and went for his dresser. He took out a shirt and a pair of shorts he didn’t wear often and handed it to her. “The towels are under the sink. Just call me if you need help with the shower.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks, Miller.” She smiled and walked out the door.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Twenty minutes later, Noel was laying on his bed when Aleena walked back in. He looked up when he heard her, his eyebrows raising when he took her in. She was standing at the door, drying her hair with a towel, dressed only in his shirt. She looked up at him and blushed when she realized he was staring at her. “It’s too hot for shorts. Plus, your shirt comes down to my thighs, so it’s not like I’m naked.” She rationalized. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Noel put his hands up. “Hey, I’m not complaining,” he teased. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aleena rolled her eyes and laid the damp towel on top of his desk chair, then made her way towards the bed. She stopped for a second before climbing into the covers, instantly cocooning herself in them. She yawned as she spoke next, “I’m tired. Good night, Miller.” She turned so she would be facing him, and closed her eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good night, Leens,” he answered, and shut off his lamp. He turned on his side to face her, pulling the cover up to his neck. He listened as her breaths became slower- she was falling asleep. Feeling his exhaustion pull him in, he closed his eyes and let her steady breathing lull him to sleep. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When Noel woke up the next morning, he was on his back with his arm laid against his eyes, shielding them from the 10 am sun. He turned to his side expecting to find Aleena laying beside him, but instead only found a note. </span>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>hey, had to get home early. thanks for last night, had a lot of fun ;) i’ll text you when i get home</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>After reading the note he checked his phone, and just as she said, he received a text from her at 8:11am. </span>
</p><p>
  <b>
    <em>aleena, 8:11am-</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <em>
    <span>hey, i’m home :)</span>
  </em>
</p><p>
  <span>Noel sighed, and he couldn’t help the smile that made its way onto his face. He finally kissed her. He finally told her how he felt- well, kind of. And she felt the same way. He couldn’t believe it. Suddenly feeling a burst of energy, he got out of bed and started getting ready, texting his friends to meet him at the skate park. </span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <span>The next two weeks were filled with days spent at school, late night calls, and evenings at the skate park. They still passed each other notes behind the teacher’s back, and a week after the party, Noel brought Aleena on a date. They went bowling, and on her last turn, he decided to tell her that he liked her. She was in the middle of swinging the ball, and his sudden interruption made her throw the ball into the gutter. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well no shit, Miller,” she laughed, “I like you too. But you have to let me shoot your last shot. You made me throw mine into the gutter!”.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He chuckled, “Fine, fine,” and he pecked her cheek as he passed her the ball. She scrunched her face at him and turned to throw it, shooting it perfectly down the middle, earning her a strike. She threw her hands in the air and cheered, then went to Noel and hugged him. With her arms still around his neck, she gloated. “I knew I was gonna beat your ass. You </span>
  <em>
    <span>suck</span>
  </em>
  <span> at bowling.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Noel playfully rolled his eyes at her statement. “Yeah, yeah, keep telling yourself that,” and they both laughed, agreeing to play another game. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Another week of school went by, and on Friday night, Noel and Aleena found themselves sitting in a booth with Cody, Kelsey, Spock, and his new girlfriend Kay. When Noel asked his friend where he met her, he simply shrugged and said, “The skate park.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They all met up to celebrate Aleena and Noel finally finishing summer school. They ordered three large fries, six cokes, and a plate of nuggets. Cody was the first to raise his cup. “To these two, who finally decided to get their shit together at the last minute. Cheers!”. They all laughed and hit their cups together, some of it spilling when Spock hit his with a little too much force. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once they set all their drinks down, Noel turned to Cody and Kelsey. “So, guys, how was your date last week?”.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The couple looked at each other and smiled, Cody putting his arm around her and pulling her close. “It was actually a lot of fun. We originally wanted to go to the bowling alley, but we decided to go to the arcade instead. I kicked her ass in the claw game.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Kelsey gasped at him. “You did </span>
  <em>
    <span>not</span>
  </em>
  <span>, I’m the one that won all the stuffed animals! You just stood there telling me what to do and distracting me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Cody spoke in his high pitched tone, and Noel and Spock started laughing. “I did! Even if I wasn’t the one controlling the claw, I still helped you place it so we could get the toys!”.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>They playfully went back and forth until Cody relinquished, admitting that Kelsey was the one that beat him. She smiled in return and kissed him, softly tapping his cheek when they separated. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The group sat in the booth, talking and laughing, until Aleena and Noel had to go. They said their goodbyes, the girls exchanging numbers while the guys threw fries at each other, and then they left. The two walked towards the bus stop, and when they finally reached it, Noel couldn’t stop fidgeting. He had been planning on asking Aleena to make it official for some time now, and he decided that today was the day. She was typing on her phone when he turned to her. “Leens.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She looked up and hummed in acknowledgment. He continued, “it’s been two weeks that we’ve been dating now, and I wanted to know if you- if you, uhm-”.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She smirked knowingly, but wanted him to say it out loud anyways. “Spit it out, Miller.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you wanna be my girlfriend?”. His brain screamed at him, </span>
  <em>
    <span>lame, lame, LAME</span>
  </em>
  <span>.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Aleena smiled and took his hands in hers. “Of course I’ll be your girlfriend, dummy.” She brought her lips to his in a quick pec, and then the bus arrived. He was beyond happy. </span>
</p>
<hr/><p>
  <b>
    <em>One month later</em>
  </b>
</p><p>
  <span>Noel stood in line in front of the whole arena, waiting for his name to be called. Graduation had finally arrived, and he was ready to be done with high school. He had spent the last month hanging out with Aleena and his friends, and the whole group made it a point to spend as much time together before they all went off to college. So, they made the boys’ usual Friday meet up into the whole group’s get together. They would spend hours in the booth, laughing and having a great time. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>However, now the time had finally come, and they were all ready to take the next step in their lives. All his friends had already been called up, and it was his turn to walk the stage now. He looked up when he heard his name get called through the speakers, and he smiled as he walked across stage, diploma in hand. Noel looked towards the crowd and spotted his friends, all standing up and cheering as loud as they could. He smiled and shook the principal's hand, feeling giddy and happy as he sat back down in his seat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After the ceremony, they all met up outside the building, and screamed as they hugged- they were finally done. Cody was the loudest, “WE’RE DONE BITCHESSSS!!”. They all laughed and whooped, causing a scene, but they didn’t care. The whole group was talking and Noel looked at them, thinking about how happy he was that they were in his life. He knew that these were the friends he would have all his life, the ones where even if they didn’t see each other for over a year, it would be as if not time had passed when they got back together. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Noel was pulled from his train of thought by Aleena, who looked up at him with a smile. “Penny for your thoughts?”.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>He put his arm around her and kissed her forehead. “Just thinking about how happy I am right now.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>She snuggled up to him. “Me too.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Noel then let go of his girlfriend to interfere between Spock and Cody, who were arguing about which food was the best. Kelsey and Kay were trying to appease them, but to no avail. Noel stood between them, called them both idiots and told them to drop it. They all laughed and changed the subject to decide where they wanted to go eat. God, he loved his friends. </span>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you so much for reading! Feel free to leave any comments, I love getting feedback &lt;3</p></blockquote></div></div>
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